In Exile

Chapter Fifteen

The week continued to crawl by and you put this down to your anxiousness over Loki's new job.

Witnessing his nature first hand didn't give you the biggest hope that he would keep his job, in fact you were more than certain that he would somehow upset his boss within the first few hours and he would storm into the house with a face like thunder and jobless once again.

Loki, on the other hand, seemed as calm as calm could be.

He spent his remaining days practically ignoring you, not that you were complaining, in favour of reading.

He'd still join you for food but it was only then, and when he had something else to complain about, that you saw him.

You didn't understand how he could be so calm, especially when you remembered the first day of your job and how nervous you had been about everything from working with new people to the systems you'd have to get used to.

Although you did well, as well as any newbie could, there was still that underlying worry about where you would go wrong next.

Loki didn't seem to care and appeared to prefer spending his time reading or insulting your food choices which would never be up to the standard of a Prince, you understood that, but that didn't make his constant sniping at the cheaper products any less irritating.

It took a lot of energy to ignore Loki, especially considering he was like a child and didn't like to be ignored unless he specifically didn't want you paying attention to him.

You hoped that this job of his would help him learn the needed values so that he could be out of your life that bit quicker.

If he wasn't so stubborn, he could have been gone by now, but instead you were stuck with him once again whining that your bathroom was too small.

"Well if you weren't a giant of a man, it wouldn't be an issue, would it?" You'd snapped back, glaring towards the man who stood in the living room doorway, drying his hair with a 'scratchy' towel.

"Perhaps if you didn't choose to live in the slum then you'd have more space to offer."

"Trust me when I say this isn't the slum area of this town, but you're welcome to go and find it, maybe go and live there for a bit and get out of my life."

"Why would I give you that satisfaction?"

It was moments like that which made you thankful to get away when you had a shift.

Though, like most people, you didn't enjoy going to work, it was perfectly fine once you got there and jumped into the swing of things and there was an undeniable feeling of satisfaction to know that you were earning your own money.

This was something that you hoped the stuck up, spoiled and catered on Prince would learn by the time he got his first pay cheque.

By the time Monday rolled around, you were glad to finally have the place to yourself for longer than an hour-long period Loki would sometimes disappear for when he went for a walk.

Unfortunately, unlike the week before, the day skipped by and before you knew it, it had grown dark outside and Loki was throwing the door open, stepping inside with a frustrated sigh.

And thus, your quiet day of relaxation before your partial shift on Tuesday was over.

Despite his obvious irritated state, you decided to try and keep things calm and collected, hoping that it would help settle him down faster.

"Hey Loki," you called out, placing a bookmark between the pages you were reading, "how was your first day?"

"Abysmal," he practically growled, throwing his coat onto the arm of the couch you were sat on.

You had to admit that you always liked that coat, it looked thick and warm and the green trimming that was laced into the black looked elegant, you had to give him credit and admit that Loki's sense of fashion was great and he knew how to compliment his features well.

"Yeah, that's telemarketing for you, most people hang up before you've even said hello."

"No, that's not it," he waved his hand dismissively before, rather uncharacteristically, flopping inelegantly into the chair to your left, "I was more than content when I was at my own cubicle, it was the training and people that got to me."

"Oh? So you enjoyed the calling part?"

"The few that I managed to do?" He asked in reply, looking at you as a smirk grew on his lips, "loved it, you Midgardians are so easy to manipulate."

"Wait, you got sales on your first day?"

"Only two, from some very willing ladies," Loki chuckled, getting up from his seat once again, "but yes."

"I'm impressed, congratulations."

"Thank you, to think I didn't even have to use my magic."

"Because you can't," you rolled your eyes in good nature, opening your book again.

Loki shot you a stern glance then walked into the kitchen.

You watched him retreat with a warm smile, genuinely happy that he was enjoying at least one part of his new job already.

In all honesty, you thought that this job would be great for him and if he had already managed two sales in his first day then you were more than confident that he would learn the amazing feeling that came with earning that little bit extra, though his would be through bonuses and most likely commissions unlike you who earned it through scraping for any overtime hours you could get.

This definitely felt like a step in the right direction, anything was better than him wasting away in his bedroom, reading.

"I see you went shopping today," he called from the kitchen, the reverberation in his voice making it obvious that he was in one of the cupboards.

"I did," you yelled back, plucking your bookmark out.

"And you still got the cheap tea?"

You sighed and closed your eyes, hoping that he'd learn to appreciate the cheaper things in life or to at least whine mentally, like you had grown accustomed to.